Gov. Chris Christie delivers his sixth State of the State to lawmakers and the public

TRENTON - Gov. Chris Christie called them his “three challenges,” a set of programs and legislative changes aimed at “dramatic results” for students, retirees and the most vulnerable in New Jersey.

Christie delivered his sixth State of the State address Tuesday, stepping away from the presidential campaign trail to call for expanding addiction services, abolishing the estate tax and loosening regulations for charter schools in the state he governs while focusing increasingly on his run for president.

“It’s good to be home,” he joked in the first line of his address. A later line acknowledged his dual focus.

“Every day I wake up and think about how to make New Jersey better, how to make our country better,” Christie said.

The headline announcement of his address was the transformation of the shuttered Mid-State Correctional Facility in Wrightstown as a certified drug abuse treatment facility, for inmates who need treatment more than prison time.

“The victims of addiction deserve treatment, whether they’re in the community or incarcerated,” Christie said. “If we can break the cycle of addiction anywhere, we should break it.”

It would go hand-in-hand with an additional $1.7 million toward the state’s “recovery coach program,” placing certified specialists in hospital rooms of overdose victims. When Narcan saves someone from a near-fatal overdose, they will be greeted by a recovery coach who can provide guidance, support and referrals for treatment.

“With the benefit of their own experiences on the path to recovery, these coaches can step in at the moment when victims of drug abuse are often at their most vulnerable and when support is most needed,” Christie said.

He singled out Toms River resident John Brogan, present in the Assembly chamber, as one of the state’s finest recovery coaches, as profiled last year in the Asbury Park Press. A 38-year-old father of three, Brogan was saved by Narcan four times before turning his life around and becoming a coach.

“When an overdose victim wakes up and reaches out for support, John is there for them,” Christie said.

Christie also announced a $100 million commitment to increase mental health and substance abuse services, particularly to three regional accountable care organizations that will identify high-cost patients and coordinate their physical and behavioral recovery while reducing hospital and emergency room care.

Democrats said the proposals are laudable but questioned how they would be paid for, other than by again shorting the contribution to the public workers’ pension funds.

One possible answer came in an announcement after the speech: The state authority that owns the airwaves that broadcast NJTV have applied to auction off those airwaves for wireless broadband use, rather than broadcast television. Opening bids for the four stations range from $740 million to $2.3 billlion, depending on how much bandwith is surrendered. The state says digital technology and cable and satellite services mean NJTV can still be seen even if its airwaves are sold.

‘Let’s not be vague’

For almost 10 minutes, Christie vowed not to pull any punches in his criticism of a proposed constitutional amendment guaranteeing quarterly contributions to pension funds, approved by legislators on Monday.

The amendment, if approved by voters in November, would require payments peaking at $5 billion a year before eventually reducing. Full contributions to the pension system haven’t been made by the state for almost 20 years, with Christie breaking rank from a schedule laid out by reforms passed in 2010 and 2011.

“This is the road to ruin,” Christie said. “Stop this before it’s too late. We cannot deny funding for health care, education, criminal justice, the poor, our environment, our children and our infrastructure to pander to pensioners.”

He said only a 10 percent sales tax or a 23 percent property tax increase would pay for the amendment, rendering non-public workers “second-class citizens.” At one point, Christie asked for a show of hands of what legislator would support either option. Only one person audibly confirmed their support, who Christie guessed “wasn’t an elected official.”

“So now all of you have a choice. Do we keep working to get things done and to move New Jersey forward? Or are we going to pander to special interests, and send New Jersey back to the bad old days?” Christie said. “Unfortunately, we see signs of this already. Signs of fiscal irresponsibility to pander to a cynical leadership of a narrow constituency. We can’t let this happen.”

The proposal would phase in payments, and supporters say it could be paid for by using the natural growth in tax revenues that derive from economic growth. If the pension fund collapses, the economic ramifications would be massive, said Assembly Majority Leader Louis Greenwald, D-Camden.

“There was true pension reform. We all deserve credit for that, Gov. Christie as well,” Greenwald said. “The failure is in not living up to the legislation that we all signed and passed. His failure to pay it is as criminal as the governors that came before him.”

Charter schools

On charter schools, Christie said the Department of Education will explore ways to give them more flexibility in teacher certifications and make it easier for them to find facilities. He said the state will also encourage new creation of new charters aimed populations such as students with autism or developmental delays.

He lauded the successes of charter schools in urban districts, such as Newark and Camden, where nearly 30 percent of public school students attend charter schools. As an example of the benefits of a charter school, Christie pointed out math teacher Allisson Cuttler, from the Uncommon Schools’ North Star Academy in Newark.

More than 25 percent of African-American students in New Jersey who passed the AP Computer Science exam came from her classroom, with a pass rate that matches the national average.

“If we choose to keep investing in and supporting innovation in our education system, there’s no reason we can’t achieve many more success stories. There’s no reason we can’t have great schools in every community,” Christie said.

Christie continued his years-long sparring with the New Jersey Education Association, the state’s largest teachers’ union, with jabs about “palaces on State Street” and selfishness. As Christie lauded Cuttler’s achievements, the NJEA criticized the governor for his sudden praise, just a few minutes after attacking teachers as one of the “chosen few” that would benefit from the pension amendment.

“Sounds to us like Allison Cutler deserves the pension she’s earning,” the NJEA tweeted.

Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto, D-Hudson, said it was “very disappointing” that Christie didn’t mention the Transportation Trust Fund, let alone lay out a plan for financing road and bridge repairs after the TTF runs out of money in June.

“I guess the focus of not really being here, that may be part of it,” Prieto said. “I tell you, for me, I didn’t get much of it as a State of the State as just lecturing and pandering.”

“He didn’t talk about the state of our state,” said Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen. “He didn’t talk about the fact that the transportation trust fund is broken. He didn’t talk about how we are going to meet our pension commitments or fund our educational obligations.”

Economic rebuttals

Portions of the speech seemed aimed in part at critics on the presidential campaign, such as Ohio Gov. John Kasich and his recent comments about New Jersey’s economy.

Christie says New Jersey’s economic recovery “went from strong to stronger” in 2015, when the state created the most private-sector jobs it has in a year since 2000. He says the unemployment rate is at its lowest point since 2008, the number of construction permits issued at its highest level since 2006 and foreclosures down by 20 percent, with declines in every county.

“On our watch, New Jersey has pulled back from the economic brink,” Christie said.

But critics were quick to correct the governor, attributing much of the “dark days” before his election to the global recession as opposed to any state-specific policies.

“Since December 2007, when the Great Recession began, New Jersey has the 8th-slowest job growth of the states, and we’re now one of just 13 states that has yet to recover all the jobs lost during the downturn. While the recovery is finally beginning to pick up, it is clearly not ‘strong’ – much less ‘stronger,’ ” said Gordon MacInnes, a former Democratic state senator and president of the New Jersey Policy Perspective think tank.

The key proposal of Christie’s economic focus was a call for abolishing New Jersey’s estate tax, paid by the estates of New Jerseyans who die if they have more than $675,000 in assets. The governor contends it is a key reason the wealthy are leaving the state. Christie didn’t propose altering the accompanying inheritance tax, which is paid on what is bequeathed to some survivors.

“The estate tax isn’t just something that affects the wealthy. It’s penalizing middle-class families who want to pass down the family home to the next generation,” Christie said. “Our tax structure incentivizes people to move to other states as they age.

“I’ve heard it before: I can afford to live here, but I can’t afford to die here,” he said.

Other parts of his address seemed to reinforce his own political arguments against other Republicans. For instance, he contrasts his background with United States senators such as Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio by saying voters should pick a chief executive of a state, not a legislator, to be president.

“Instead of going for the quick fixes or the easy solutions, we’ve gone for hard solutions and a long-term revolution in the way we run our state,” Christie said. “This is what it means to be a governor; to be a real leader. It’s the difference between talking a big game and attacking problems head-on and being responsible for achieving solutions.”

And Christie used a part of the speech to make a pre-emptive response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union speech, scheduled to be delivered hours later.

“The State of the Union isn’t a call to action; it’s a fantasy wish list by a president who has failed us,” Christie said. “It’s the world as he wishes it was, not the real world his failed leadership has left to all Americans.”